Majority of Sanders Delegates Rejects Six Reported to Be on Clinton’s Running-Mate List

A major survey of over 250 Bernie Sanders delegates reveals telling details about the state of Hillary Clinton’s campaign. The survey was conducted by the independent organization Bernie Delegates Network, an initiative started by RootsAction.org in association with Progressive Democrats of America. The results of the survey, conducted via email, were released Saturday.

In a news release, the Bernie Delegates Network explained the first series of questions:

Delegates were asked to respond with “Acceptable” or “Not Acceptable” or “Unsure” regarding six individuals who have been widely mentioned in recent news reports as potential Clinton running-mates. A paragraph on each individual summarized some of their positions on topics important to Sanders delegates, such as TPP, Keystone XL and Wall Street.

The six potential Clinton running mates listed were: Tim Kaine, junior Virginia senator; Julian Castro, Housing and Urban Development secretary; Mark Warner, senior Virginia senator; Cory Booker, New Jersey senator; retired Adm. James Stavridis; and Adm. Mike Mullen, former Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman. All of them received “Not Acceptable” survey scores of 72 percent or higher. Sen. Mark Warner garnered the highest, with 91.6 percent of the delegates stating he would be an unacceptable vice presidential pick.

The final question asked, “If Clinton is to be the nominee and she selects as her vice presidential running mate one of the individuals whom you’ve marked as unacceptable or someone politically similar, would you seriously consider participating in these actions at the convention?” The actions listed were “Denouncing the VP pick” and “Nonviolently and emphatically protesting in the convention hall during Clinton’s acceptance speech.”

According to the news release, a majority of the delegates surveyed said they would “seriously consider participating” in one or both of those actions.

Norman Solomon, national coordinator of the Bernie Delegates Network and also a Sanders delegate, stated: “We have every reason to believe that the lopsided numbers from this survey indicate it would be a risky proposition for Clinton to choose a running-mate who is supportive of corporate-friendly trade deals and cozy with Wall Street.”

Clinton’s Republican rival, Donald Trump, announced Indiana Gov. Mike Pence as his pick for vice president earlier this week. There have been reports that Trump was not fully committed to this choice and wavered among other options, including New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich.

Clinton and her team would be smart to take this survey into consideration as they continue to vet possible running mates. According to Bloomberg’s delegate tracker, 1,894 delegates are pledged to Bernie Sanders, including 48 superdelegates.

—Posted by Emma Niles